May 12, 2013

The Lisle Astros will hold their annual Victoria Day Weekend Tournament this weekend (May 18-20).

Ten teams will take part over the three-day tournament. Host Lisle will be joined by New Lowell Knights, Creemore Braves, Bolton Brewers, Angus Black Sox, Midland Indians, Ivy Leafs, Clearview Orioles, Orillia Majors, and Bolton Dodgers.

Saturday's line-up includes New Lowell and Creemore at 9 a.m., Bolton Brewers versus Lisle at 11 a.m., followed by Angus and Midland at 1 p.m. Ivy and Clearview will play at 3 p.m. with Orillia and Bolton Dodgers ending the day with a 5 p.m. game.

Sunday action will have four games with another four games on Monday including the consolation game scheduled for 1 p.m. and the championship game at 3:30 p.m.

A licensed beer garden and food booth will be on the grounds.

Tournament Schedule

April 29, 2013

The local baseball scene will soon be in full swing as the North Dufferin Baseball League season starts Friday.

Orillia and Innisfil lead off the junior division Friday night. Creemore travels to Orillia and Innisfil plays Barrie on Sunday.

The senior division starts Saturday when Clearview heads to Nobleton, Bolton Brewers at Creemore and New Lowell plays Midland. Sunday play has Ivy at Creemore, Aurora at New Lowell, Mansfield at Barrie, Midland at Lisle, and Bolton Dodgers at Angus.

Recent withdrawal of both Midland Twins and New Lowell Knights from the junior division has reduced the juniors to six teams. The remaining teams will play a 20-game schedule.

The senior division will play 26 games, with the regular season running to the end of July.

Schedules for the junior and senior divisions are online at www.ndbl.ca.

April 29, 2013

The New Lowell Knights junior team have informed the league executive they will withdraw from the 2013 season due to lack of player commitment.

As the junior schedule has already been released, the executive has decided to void all New Lowell games. As a result, the junior division will now play a 20-game schedule rather than a 24-game schedule.

Dan Gowan HonouredDan Gowan (right) was presented a President's Award from president Mike Wallace during the North Dufferin Baseball League awards ceremony on March 10. The award recognizes Gowan's long and faithful service to the league. (David Anderson photo)

March 11, 2013

A North Dufferin Baseball League awards ceremony was held in Lisle on Sunday, March 10. The event recognized team and player achievements for the 2012 season.

In the junior division, Logan Karse of Barrie won four awards including best batter, best on base percentage, most runs scored and most valuable player. Midland's Mike Kazienko was named most sportsmanlike player while teammate Eddie Cruise and Creemore's Dyer Boyne tied for the most homeruns. Nick Boyd of Orillia was the top pitcher.

The senior division winners included Midland's Jason Seeler as best batter, Michael Gemmiti of Bolton Dodgers with the best on base percentage, and Donovon Winch of Clearview with the most runs scored. Best pitcher was Creemore's Brad Grieveson with teammate Todd Gowan named most valuable player and home run champ. The most sportsmanlike player was Aurora's Rob Wilson while Todd Patton of New Lowell was named best catcher. Patton also won the inaugural presentation of the Bud Anderson Memorial Award for senior division coach of the year.

The Aurora Jays and Creemore Braves juniors were acknowledged for their Ontario championships in the Senior 'A' and Junior 'C' playoffs respectively.

Dan Gowan of Creemore was honoured with a President's Award during the ceremony. The award recognizes outstanding service to baseball in the area and to the league. He has been an active player for over 30 years with Creemore teams and has served as league treasurer for 28 consecutive years.

Gowan was the seventh person to receive the award since it was created in 1984. Past recipients include Roy Tipling (1984), Bob Doner (1985), Bud Anderson (1987), Bob Patton (1988), Tom Anderson (2008), and Paul Carruthers (2009).

Following the awards, the league held its annual general meeting with some notable changes for the upcoming season.

The junior division has expanded to eight teams with the addition of Stayner and Alliston. The Richmond Hill juniors opted not to return this year.

The senior division will include 14 teams with the loss of the Orangeville team but gained a new team from Nobleton.

The 2013 executive and officers include president Rob Wilson, vice president Sean Hayward, past president Mike Wallace, secretary Scott Anderson, treasurer Dan Gowan, Statistician Peter Kinghan, and York-Simcoe representative Vance White.

The league will meet April 3 to approve the schedule with opening day on May 4.

February 4, 2013

The Annual General Meeting of the North Dufferin Baseball League will take place on Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. at the Lisle Royal Canadian Legion.

Any teams interested in joining the league for the 2013 season should contact secretary Scott Anderson at 705-424-0769 or by email at secretary@ndbl.ca. Further information is also available at www.ndbl.ca. The league operates both a senior and junior division.

Prior to the meeting, the league will hold an awards event at the Legion to present 2012 season awards. A lunch and awards presentation will get underway at 12 Noon and is open to players and fans.